Vanishing into Thin Air
by sands.of.time7
Summary: Sakura never imagined she wouldn't be coming back from her mission. One bad outcome after another, she ends up enslaved under a master with none other than Uchiha Sasuke. Fate is cruel at times...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Captured

'I can make it…I can make it...,' was the repetitive mantra going through Haruno Sakura's head as she raced towards the Hidden Leaf from the Land of Rivers. She was attempting to evade a group of criminals, who were in hot pursuit after she had killed their boss. The mission had involved the assassination of a lower-level minister, who was tied to an underground slave trade. Confidently, Sakura had requested to be sent alone in order not to attract too much attention. However, she was currently regretting it.

The mission had been simple, really. It involved four steps: seduce, isolate, assassinate and evade undetected. It all went according to plan until right after the actual assassination. One of the minister's thugs for hire had shown up outside the bedroom door just as she was about to make her escape. Looking around, she had realized the window was too small and blasting through it would have drawn too much attention. Gripping her _kunai_ tighter, she had opened the door to fight her opponent, only to find that she was grossly outnumbered as more and more thugs entered the hallway.

Sakura had fought off over a dozen men before she had finally reached an exit. Just as she had been about to find cover by entering the forest, two _shurikens_ had slammed into her back while another had grazed her shoulder. It had taken everything she had to keep going.

'I'm getting close to the border… I just have to get a little further', thought Sakura, as she jumped onto the next branch and teetered for a second. 'My chakra's getting low.' With each following jump, she felt slower and less balanced.

"Damn it!" she muttered, as one of her attackers came into view blocking her path. 'I can't believe he got ahead of me!'

Looking around from her perch, she realized she was surrounded. There were six attackers in the surrounding trees, ready to pounce. It took a second and they were on her. A few minutes into the battle, Sakura had taken out three opponents. She was busy deflecting a sword that was headed straight for her heart, when she felt someone land on the branch behind her. Not fast enough to turn around and intercept; she felt a painful chop to the back of her head before falling into oblivion.

Loud screaming jarred Sakura awake. She could hear a woman wailing not far away from her. Through her blurred and limited vision, she could make out the outline of metal bars and a man in the process of dragging away a young woman not unlike herself.

'I must be in one of their slave camps', Sakura thought. Although, she wanted to help the girl, it was painfully obvious that she had been beaten badly. Sakura was aware that her face was swollen, judging from her inability to open her eyes to more than slits. She was also nauseous and her head was pounding. While continuing to awaken, the pain she felt increased ten-fold as her brain registered the various injuries she had sustained throughout her body.

"I just dressed your wounds, so don't move around too much or you'll undo my work and get an infection," said someone behind her. Sakura tried to shift to see who it was but quickly decided against it as her back protested painfully. Instead, Sakura attempted to speak but all that came out was a weak moan. 'Great! I can't even speak anymore!' she thought.

"I've left some water, beside your mat. Have some when you think you can keep it down. Now, try to get some rest," said the voice once last time before she heard her cell door close and footsteps moving away from her.

Unable to keep her eyes open much longer, she slowly returned to numbing sleep.

It was dawn when she awoke next and it appeared bed rest had done her a great deal of good. She was still hurt, but now able to get to her feet and limp around her cell. She noticed her torso was tightly wrapped in bandages along with her right thigh and left arm. On top of that, she found herself wearing a loose grey robe, instead of the clothes she wore on her mission. Not that she minded terribly. 'Who would want to wear revealing, tight clothes over painful injuries anyway?'

As she looked around, Sakura saw that she was locked up in a cell located halfway down a long corridor containing a dozen more cells. Most of the occupants appeared to still be sleeping, but she could still make out that they mostly seemed to be women and children. A frown appeared on Sakura's face when she imagined what these poor souls must have been through to end up caged like animals and waiting to be sold off to the highest bidder.

Resolved to get herself out of this mess and help as many of these people as she could, Sakura prepared to heal herself. She grabbed the water next to her mat and drank it all, wishing there was more. She lay down on her mat, closed her eyes and started sensing for her chakra. Due to her injuries, she had a lower amount, but at least it was probably enough to heal the worst of her injuries. She concentrated and made the hand signals to turn her chakra into a healing force within her.

Nothing happened. She tried again, but still she was unable to mould and direct her chakra.

'Damn it! Why can't I use my chakra?' thought Sakura as she sat back up. She started feeling around her body and sure enough, there was a chakra limiter over the bandages around her neck and clavicle. As she felt along it, she discovers that the necklace was an inch in diameter and was too tight to pull over her head. Finding a locking device, she would need something long and narrow to pick the lock. 'I hope they didn't find it.' Brining her hands up into her messy hair, she found a metal pin she often used for far more than keeping her hair in place.

'With any luck, I'll have this off in no time!'

Not to draw attention to herself, Sakura lay back down facing away from the cell door and got to work.

'Stupid lock! Either, I've lost my touch or it was designed so it wouldn't unlock without the key. Those bastards!' fumed Sakura, as she continued to pick at the lock hoping for a change in luck.

Dawn slowly turned into mid-morning when she suddenly heard, "What are you doing?!" A guard had noticed what she was doing from the cell door. Before she knew it, her hair pin had been yanked away and her hands were roughly tied behind her back. Giving her a kick in the stomach for good measure, the guard walked away.

'I can't believe this!,' thought a discouraged Sakura still gasping for air. 'I'll never get out of here at this rate!' As her breathing become more normal, she started feeling something warm and sticky spreading on her back. It appeared that in her struggle she had reopened her wounds and blood was starting to soak the back of her robe.

Weakened and unable to fight back, Sakura was dragged from her cell and thrown into a bright room. Struggling to sit up, she looked around and noticed other men and women who were bound and wore chakra limiters like her. Suddenly, they all stood stiffly looking towards the door behind her. She glanced back and saw a rich looking middle-aged man walk in with two masked ninjas for protection.

She hissed in pain as the guard grabbed her elbow and made her stand up. "Stand up straight and keep your mouth shut," he whispered harshly into Sakura's ear, hitting her injured back as a warning for worse to come if she didn't obey. Sakura head snapped up and she grimaced at the pain she felt.

'That bastard! He'll pay for this!"

The rich man slowly walked around the slaves examining them closely before moving on to the next one. Another man was walking with him, explaining the strengths and weaknesses of each slave. As Sakura listened, it became clear that every slave in the room was a shinobi that had been captured.

"Ah…our newest member… She is looking weak at the moment, but we just recently acquired her by force and she hasn't recovered from her injuries yet."

"Why show her to me, if she isn't presentable?"

"We had a feeling you might be interested in her. She managed to assassinate one of our allies and defeat over a dozen men before she was taken down. Judging from her attacks, it would seem that she is earth-based and has incredible chakra control."

"Interesting…who is she?"

"No idea sir. She was not wearing anything that would identify her village of origin and she hasn't told us anything about herself," said the seller humbly.

"You have no information on this ninja and she's injured. Do you take me for a fool?" the rich man asked angrily.

"No sir! I believe her to be the most powerful ninja here. That's why we are showing her to you," nervously replied the other man.

"You'll have to lower the price because of the condition she is in and for taking a risk by not having any information on her."

"I understand, but she is worth a lot of money. I can't give you a discount…"

The haggling continued for a few minutes, until a deal was reached.

Sakura couldn't believe what was happening. She had just been sold to some creepy guy to do who knows what! Unconsciously, she had started struggling to get out of the guard's grip. As he growled at her to stand still, Sakura became more focused and slammed her foot down unto his, making him let go. Swiftly, she turned towards her attacker and kneed him in the family jewels, smirking as he went down in front of her.

Not able to bask in her victory for very long, one of the man's ninjas was suddenly behind her in the blink of an eye. A sickening feeling came over her at the familiarity of the situation. She felt the prick of a needle and she was already falling into darkness.

Uchiha Sasuke frowned at the sorry state she was in. As he carried her, he could tell she had a fever and that she was in urgent need of medical care.

"Master, the girl won't survive if I don't clean her wounds and patch her up. Is it possible to stop before nightfall?" he asked. As loathsome as the rich man could be, he would never squander his money, or in this case, an investment.

"Alright, we might as well camp here by the river," obliged Endo Kenichi (the rich man).

"Thank you, master," replied Sasuke, as he bowed to show respect.

As he gathered the things he would need, Sasuke couldn't help but feel hatred towards Endo, the man who had enslaved and abused him for the past two years. He had found himself in a similar situation to Sakura. After killing Itachi, he had been completely drained of chakra and too injured to move. He had passed out, only to awaken in a cage and soon to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Unlike Sakura, everyone knew his name and abilities. He had attracted many bidders and his auction had been made into a show. For the proud Uchiha, standing bound and blindfolded on stage while being sold into slavery was the most humiliating moment of his life.

He picked up the unconscious Sakura and took her to the river. Trying to distract himself while he stripped and bathed her, Sasuke thought of how he could help her escape before it was too late. The problem with being enslaved by the Endo family was their knowledge of complicated seals that had been used by the people of the Whirlpool hidden village a long time ago.

'If they put that seal on her, she'll never be able to leave'.

Satisfied that her wounds were clean, he pulled her out of the water and set her on the rocky shore. Unable to ignore her body, he let his eyes roam her nude form, taking note of the injuries. As he dried her with a towel, he noticed that she felt cooler to the touch than before.

'Good, she might make it yet'.

Glad she was still unconscious for this part, he pulled out a needle and thread. He started stitching up the deep cuts in her back. The fact that she had torn open her stitches before made it harder the second time around.

'This will leave a bad scar, but at least it'll be on her back,' he thought while he concentrated on the task.

Finally finished, he bent towards her, cutting the string with his teeth. After applying salve on the rest of her cuts and scrapes, he wrapped most of her torso in bandages and dressed her in some of his cloths.

Once back at their temporary campsite, he lay her face down on his sleeping bag. Pushing his chakra into his legs, he leaped up and landed on a nearby branch intending to guard the campsite and Sakura.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Vanishing into Thin Air**_

Chapter 2

"Sasuke! What has gotten into you?!" bellowed Endou. "You nearly led us straight into group of Suna shinobi patrolling the borders of the Wind Country!"

The group which included Endou, four ninjas, Sakura and two other slaves had been travelling for a couple of days. They were heading to Ishi, where the Endou compound was located. Since everyone was walking to accommodate the weak slaves and those who were not ninjas, the journey would take a several days. Within that time, Sasuke had looked for opportunities to help Sakura escape.

'I was hoping you would be too stupid to notice in time,' thought Sasuke, while he knelt on the ground in front on Endou.

"I'm sorry master. I won't let it happen again," replied Sasuke, keeping his voice devoid of emotion.

Endou was silent for a moment while he studied his slave. Sasuke had a history of being disobedient.

"Sasuke, I'm not inclined to believe you. You have made too many mistakes along the way that have almost led to our discovery. Are you trying to get us caught? Might I remind you that you are still a missing ninja and still wanted by all the shinobi hidden villages!" yelled Endou.

Sasuke said nothing, knowing it would only make things worse for him. He had been trying to create an opportunity for Sakura to be rescued, but it seemed like he had been a little too obvious.

'Still took him days to even realize it.'

"Whether you were doing it on purpose or not, you will be punished when we get back to the compound. Do you understand?" continued Endou.

"Yes master. I understand."

"Now hold out your wrist."

Sasuke sighed and extended his arm. He saw Endou make a series of hand seals and place his palm on Sasuke's wrist.

"Sasuke, you are not to do anything that will give away the location of this group or hinder its progress in anyway. That's an order," said Endou. Sasuke hissed in pain as a round seal appeared there.

"Yes, master," he said, frowning as he turned away. 'Now, I won't be able to change Sakura's fate,' he thought sadly.

The Commanding seal that had just been placed on him had the ability to activate the more complicated and dangerous Whirlpool seal that was on his stomach. If the latter seal was activated, he would lose all his chakra and feel tremendous pain until his master deactivated it. So if he disobeying a direct order, the first seal would activate the latter one. It was ingenious, really, if only he wasn't the one trapped by it.

When he had first been made a slave, Sasuke had tried escaping on more than one occasion. The seal had been so efficient that he would have barely left the compound, before he would suddenly be lying on the ground writhing in pain. He would then have to crawl back to his master, asking for forgiveness and relief from the pain. On his fifth attempt, Endou had left him to suffer for a full day. Sasuke had a feeling that if his life had not been in danger, he probably would have left him in that state for much longer. He hadn't tried to escape since then, a year and a half ago.

'That cold-hearted bastard! I can't wait for the day he'll get what's coming to him!'

The rest of their trip was uneventful. The group had trudged along in peace until they reached the Endou compound in Ishi. Sakura had been in semi-conscious state for the entire trip, after receiving medication for her infection. The medication included a sedative which meant she had to be carried the whole way.

Sasuke was glad for this, since it would have been a lot harder to conceal her identity if she reacted to him. Although he had taken every precaution necessary so she wouldn't figure out who he was, had she been alert Sakura would have heard others calling out his name during the trip.

After arriving, the new slaves and Sasuke had swiftly been taken to the dungeon of the estate. Each of them was given a cell.

Endou stepped into Sasuke's cell and approached him.

"You know what's coming…raise your shirt."

Sasuke did as he was told.

Endou reached out and caressed Sasuke's smooth stomach where the seal was located.

"Your skin is so soft" he whispered in his ear as his hand moved lower and slide under the elastic of his pants.

Sasuke shuddered involuntarily. He hated being touched by the man and it took all the self control he had not to react.

He had played this game many times before. Endou would provoke Sasuke until he tried to attack him. Unfortunately for Sasuke, he could never strike Endou in time before the Whirlpool seal activated.

There were three triggers to the Whirlpool seal. The first trigger was aggression towards any Endou family member. The second trigger was leaving the compound without receiving an order that would allow him to leave. The third trigger was non-compliance with an order embedded in the Commanding seal.

"I wonder how far I get this time," whispered Endou in a supposedly seductive manner.

Sasuke cringed upon hearing this. 'Nowhere, you dirty man.'

Endou's other hand was suddenly gripping the back of his head pulling Sasuke forward into a forced kiss. Before he could stop himself Sasuke had bit his master's invading tongue.

"Ahhhhh—," screamed Sasuke as the Whirlpool seal automatically activated.

"You filthy slave! How dare you bite me?" Endou yelled.

Sasuke gritted his teeth to stop his screams. The seal was causing a burning sensation along all the chakra paths in his body, effectively making him feel like he was on fire. The worst pain was pooling in his stomach making him curl up into a tight ball.

"Go to hell old man!" responded Sasuke, knowing he was playing with fire.

In a manner of minutes, Sasuke's hands were tied above his head and his body was being pulled up until he was dangling from the ceiling unable to touch the ground.

"You asked for it!" said Endou as Sasuke felt the first whiplash.

Enable to stay quiet; Sasuke began screaming in agony as the whip made contact with his back.

Chaos ruled Sasuke's mind as the whipping continued. He was aware of flittering incoherent thoughts and emotions as pain consumed his mind.

Although he knew he was screaming, Sasuke couldn't hear anymore, nor could he see. Even the pain was fading into nothingness.

Endou stopped when Sasuke's voice disappeared. Turning him around, Endou saw that he was unconscious.

'Looks like I went a little too far.' He thought as he dropped the whip and walked out of the cell, leaving Sasuke hanging.

She had woken up as she was dumped unceremoniously onto the cement floor of her cell. Feeling extremely heavy and groggy, Sakura realized she was under the influence of a drug.

Hearing the footsteps fade, she had opened her eyes and tried to move. Apart from moving head from side to side and the tips of her fingers, Sakura couldn't move anything else.

She heard a voice. Considering the state she was in, minutes or hours could have passed by between her arrival in the dungeon and now.

She turned her head towards the cell across from hers. Even though her eyes were wide open, time and reality seemed to be evading her like she was in a dream or in this case a nightmare. As images of Uchiha Sasuke being molested and tortured entered her mind, she struggled and failed to focus her mind long enough to ascertain whether she was witnessing reality or not.


	3. Chapter 3

Vanishing into Thin Air - Chapter 3

Sakura woke up screaming as a searing pain spread over her stomach. Eyes wide open; she could see a man kneeling next to her.

"The pain should recede in a few minutes," said Endou Masazumi gently. As Sakura calmed down, he started explaining how the seal worked. "So, it's sad to say, but you will be in the service of Endou family for the rest of your life," he concluded.

'As if a stupid seal is going to keep me here!' thought Sakura, clenching her jaw painfully in an effort not to speak.

Finally, he unlocked and removed the chakra limiter from around her neck, knowing she couldn't harm him. His work done, he stood to leave.

He glanced at her once more, noting her angry expression. "Since you're a ninja, your life here may be easier than the common slave," he offered in an attempt to console her.

"Although your words are gentle, Masazumi, the reality is that her life is ours to do what we will," said Endou Kenichi from the entrance of her cell. "Did you hear that little girl? You belong to me!"

Before either brother could blink, Sakura had leaped forward and aimed a punch into the bars next to Endou Kenichi. As her fist made contact with the structure, the bars twisted making a huge hole.

Endou Kenichi could only stare at the destruction that had occurred not even two feet away from him.

Sakura approached Kenichi, until she was close enough to see the droplets of sweat forming on his forehead. "Don't underestimate me, _master_" said Sakura menacingly.

Surprised, he tripped backwards and fell on his behind in the dirt.

"Hahaha…" Endou Masazumi was laughing so hard, he was doubled over with tears running down his cheeks as he stared at the scene in front of him.

"Serves you right brother! You should be nicer sometimes," said Masazumi after he had regained his composure.

"How dare you!" Kenichi screamed.

"Come on brother, she is new. Give her a chance to adjust," said Masazumi as he herded his brother towards the dungeon's entrance. "I'll handle this," he assured him as he shut the door behind him.

"You're quite the surprise! Strong and bright, I see. I had barely explained the rules and you had already figured out how close you could aim an attack without activating the seal," said Masazumi. "You may have a bright future here after all, but be careful not to upset my brother or he will punish you ruthlessly."

Masazumi was now leaning into the bars of the cell opposite to hers. "Just look at what he did to this disobedient slave," he said, nodding towards to the bloody figure that was sprawled on floor of his cell.

"Kenichi went a little overboard this time. Lucky for this slave that I had business with you this morning or he would have continued hanging from the ceiling in intense pain," Masazumi continued as he studied her face. He could read shock and sorrow as her eyes found the person he was referring to.

Sakura was struggling to hide her emotions. She was remembering her 'dream' of Sasuke being tortured, only to now find out that she had actually witnessed it!

"I'm glad that this is shocking to you. I wouldn't want you to suffer the same fate as him."

Masazumi started making his way towards the door leading out of the dungeon.

"Come! There's no point in leaving you here, if you're only going to destroy your cell anyway. I'll show you where you will live from now on."

Sakura forced herself to look away from Sasuke and walk out the door with Masazumi.

A million questions seemed to be revolving in her mind as she followed her new master.

* * *

Sasuke woke up on the floor of his cell. To his surprise his wounds had been dressed and the door was unlocked. Groaning from pain, he dragged himself to his feet and made his way out of the dungeon.

Sasuke took the stairs and headed to the upper levels of the mansion. Unlike the slaves with no special ability that lived in the servant house, ninjas caught in the Endou's forbidden jutsu lived in a wing of the mansion. There were several large rooms that could accommodate four people each. Sasuke was currently living with two other male ninjas.

Using the servants' common areas and stairways, Sasuke tried to avoid the Endou family members. He had made it past the slaves working in the kitchen and was just turning a corner when he ran into someone else.

He saw a flash of pink and knew exactly who it was before he even got a good look at the person who had been in his way.

"Look who the cat dragged in," said Endou Masazumi. "Sasuke, I was just giving a tour to our newest ninja. Her name is Katou Shizune."

'Smooth, Sakura. You couldn't think of another name except Tsunade's other apprentice,' he thought sarcastically.

"Nice to meet you, _Shizune_. My name is Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura nodded politely.

"I'm glad you two ran into each other. Shizune will join your team to replace Kamiyama."

Sasuke nodded. Kamiyama was killed a few weeks ago when Sasuke's team was stealing a scroll from the hidden village of Suna. Since then, the team was working twice as hard to make up for the loss of his teammate.

'It might be easier to keep her out of trouble this way,' he thought.

"Well, Shizune. This is the end of my tour. I suggest you go back with Sasuke to your room and make yourself comfortable until you are needed."

"Thanks you," said Sakura, as Masazumi walked away.

* * *

When Sakura turned to face Sasuke, he was already heading up the stairs towards their room. 'As talkative as ever,' she thought sarcastically.

Sakura quickly caught up to him in the stairs. It wasn't too hard since he was injured. He was climbing the stair slowly, shoulders stiffly hunched over with an iron grip on the guard rail and a grimace on his face.

"Do you think you're going to make it?" she asked in a concerned but slightly teasing manner.

Sasuke gave her his infamous glare and Sakura couldn't help but smirk back at him.

'Some things never change,' she thought.

Finally, Sasuke made it to the room. He slid the door open and walked into a fairly large room with a traditional tatami floor.

Sakura entered behind him, noting that it looked like an empty room except for a rack that held different types of weapons near the doorway.

Sasuke walked to a large closet. "There are futons in the cabinet, along with other things."

He pulled out a futon and gingerly bent over to spread it out. "Since you don't know anything about this place, don't leave this room without a member of our team."

With that, Sasuke lay down and closed his eyes.

Sakura knew she should feel annoyed with him, but she remembered watching him screaming from pain in the dungeon. It was clear that he was in pain and exhausted. 'Life seemed to one painful experience after another for Sasuke', she mused. 'I wonder how I would have turned out if I had been through even half of what he has.'

She sat down on the tatami floor and leaned against the wall. Surprised by the twinge of pain, she remembered the injuries she sustained in the Land of Rivers.

Sakura closed her eyes and made the hand signals to mould her chakra into a healing force. She directed to slowly flow through her entire body, healing all of her injuries.

'Ah…I feel so much better!'

Sakura got up and sat on the window sill peering at the activity outside. She could see children playing on the grounds, slaves tending the fields and guards patrolling the perimeter of the property.

She noted that the Endou compound had no fences or ditches to prevent people from entering or escaping. 'Who needs a fence when you have a house full of ninjas protecting you and the Whirlpool seal keeping slaves from escaping?'

Sakura continued to study the activities occurring on the grounds of the compound all day. She had met her two other teammates in the early evening and had gotten to know them better over a quick dinner in the servant's kitchen. Tanaka Kouji and Omura Shin were in their mid-twenties and had been with Endou since their teenage years.

"I'm glad you joined us. It hasn't been the same without Kamiyama and it will be a nice change to have a woman on the team," said Kouji.

"Just be careful not to anger any of the Endou family members. You'll only cause yourself unnecessary pain," said Shin.

"I'll do my best," answered Sakura doubtfully.

"Well, you can't do any worse than that Uchiha! He's been punished so often for disobeying that you would think he's masochistic!" continued a laughing Shin.

'Sasuke…a masochist?! Are we talking of the same guy?' thought Sakura.

Sakura humored them for a while longer, getting as much information as possible. It appeared that the Endou's had been a prominent ninja clan in the hidden village of Whirlpool. They had been renowned for their binding and sealing abilities. When the village was destroyed, only a few members of the clan had managed to survive and escape. Since that time, the remaining members had relocated to Ishi and still held a deep grudge against most of the hidden villages. In fact, the Endou family's took great pleasure in stirring up trouble with other hidden villages and between them.

'I'm so tired,' thought Sakura as she followed the rest of her team up to their room. Sasuke was awake and reading a scroll when they walked in.

"We already have a mission. We're leaving in less than hour. Get your gear ready."

Sasuke paused for a second, while considering Sakura. "The Endou's have a storage area with lots of extra gear. I'll take you there right now. Follow me."

Sakura sighed. 'No sleep for me then', she thought while following Sasuke.

"Why don't you let me take a look at your back before we go? I could heal you."

A flicker of surprise showed on his face, before his stoic expression reappeared. "So that's why you're not in pain. You've already healed yourself."

"Yeah, that's right. I'm not helpless or weak!"

'Not anymore,' she couldn't help thinking. Suddenly, Sakura smirked behind Sasuke's back. As he walked through the door of the storage room, she hit his back hard enough to cause him enough pain to distract him. Before Sasuke had the time to react, Sakura had already slipped her hands under his shirt and was healing his back.

The tense Sasuke, slowly relax and let her finish her work.

As Sakura's hands slipped down his back and out from under his shirt, Sasuke quickly turned around and caught both her hands. "Don't sneak up on me or I might kill you by accident," he growled.

Sakura smiled, "Sasuke, I won't be the girl that follows you blindly. If I want to sneak up on you, I will. And even if you try to kill me, you won't be able to."

I hope you enjoyed it :)


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